Dairy-free, gluten-free chocolate and vanilla chequerboard cake

This dairy-free, gluten-free chocolate and vanilla sponge cake is delicious. The chocolate is brownie-like, the vanilla is light, and it’s all arranged in a chequerboard design and smothered in rich, dairy-free chocolate frosting.

To achieve this light consistency, I used Pure Sunflower Spread, which is completely dairy free and fantastic to use in baking.

Here’s how to make this chocolate and vanilla chequerboard cake.

Ingredients

For the sponges:

280 g (9.9 oz) Pure Dairy Free Spread

350 g (12.3 oz) caster sugar

4 medium free range eggs

1 tsp vanilla paste

350 g (12.3 oz) gluten free self raising flour

pinch salt

50 g (1.8 oz) cocoa

2 tbsp water

For the frosting:

250 g (8.8 oz) Pure dairy free spread

250 g (8.8 oz) icing sugar

100 g (3.5 oz) cocoa powder

Instructions

To make the sponges:

Preheat the oven to 160C (140C fan, 320F).

Beat the spread, vanilla and sugar together until fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Beat in the flour and salt until pale.

Divide the mixture between two bowls. Beat 50g cocoa into one of them.

Grease and line four square 7″, straight-sided baking trays. Fill two with the chocolate mix and two with the vanilla mix.

Bake the chocolate ones for 25 minutes and the vanilla ones for 35 minutes (or until everything is just firm).

Leave to cool completely. (Tip: If you wrap them in clingfilm and place them in the fridge for an hour or even overnight, they’re easier to work with when it comes to the cutting and assembly)

To make the frosting:

Beat the spread, icing sugar and cocoa together, starting slowly and working up to full speed until the mix is fluffy.

To bring it all together:

Take a slab of cake and cut in half, then quarters, then eighths, then sixteenths. Repeat for the other three cakes.

On a clean board, begin to reassemble the first layer in a chequerboard fashion, smearing a little frosting along each edge as you go.

When you have your first layer done, cover the top with a thin layer of frosting, then begin building your second layer.

Keep going until you have 4 layers, then cover the whole of the outside with frosting and place in the fridge for an hour to set.

Here’s that recipe again in a printable format.

Dairy free, gluten free chocolate and vanilla chequerboard cake

Prep Time: 1hour

Cook Time: 35minutes

Total Time: 1hour35minutes

Servings: 10

Author: Emily Leary

This dairy-free, gluten-free chocolate and vanilla sponge cake is delicious. The chocolate is brownie-like, the vanilla is light, and it’s all arranged in a chequerboard design and smothered in rich, dairy-free chocolate frosting.

Finally, a cake recipe without dairy products. I’ve been searching for a good recipe for quite some time now, but alas I had no success. I will definitely give this a go. I haven’t eaten cake since forever.
Thanks, Emily : )

I really like this one and apart from the vanilla cake being a little lighter and airier in texture than a really buttery, gluten-based cake, there’s nothing in the texture and flavour to give away that this is a ‘free from’ cake!

Well done Emily! Great looking cake and lovely checker-boarding. It’s good to see some GF baking from such a great blogger. Should I feel threatened that you have made it look so easy?? AND so perfect??